Summer leagues kick off

The season may be over but after a month off it’s now time to turn thoughts to the summer leagues.

As has been the case in previous years, we will be running a men’s (Tuesdays) and women’s (Mondays) leagues, but we will also be operating a mixed league on Thursdays, thanks largely to the hard work of Dodie Khurshid. Fixtures can be found by downloading this document - we kick-off on May 15 against Battersea (7.30pm).

There is also a veterans league, played weekly at Surbiton. The dates and times of the six Wednesday evening matches are;- 14th May 7.30pm, 21st May 7.30pm, 11th June 8.00pm, 25th June 8.00 pm, 2nd July 8.00 pm, 9th July 7.30pm.

Contact details to follow.

Helen Hawes named man of the year

A very good night for all who attended the dinner on the 5th, with a well timed power cut preventing the satellite link to the veterans and third XI from being activated. Very suspicious that Ed Breton indicated that the power should be back on at 22.00 and at 22.02 the power was back with us. As always votes of thanks go to those who ensured that people like me could just turn up, drink plenty of alcohol, eat well, have a laugh and go home contented. Special thanks to Sarah, Alison and Ed B who did the hard work to make the evening a great success and I am sure that there were others who also had a hand in setting up the club - apologies for not naming you personally.

Well done to Helen Hawes for winning the club captain's award for years of unrecognised work behind the scenes and in ensuring that the ladies club is in such a strong position - the ladies never seem to have any crises experienced by the other teams in the club but if they do they resolve them without involving everyone else. The general consensus was that next year they play in purple.

The first XI players player award went to Rippers - Ed B please find the trophy in one of the cardboard boxes but come back to me if you can't so I can chase Mike N.

Second XI award went to Jon Heard with the ladies giving out a number of awards to various members of their team.

Rob picked up the 4ths award even though he was rude to me when I umpired them in February.

Not sure who won the 3rd XI and Veterans awards as they were presented in China by Robert Mugabe and made reference to Tibet.

Next year I am setting the social committee and myself a target of 100 attendees so to that end a date will be decided on by the end of October so there are many months to sell the tickets and ensure that teams are involved.

Have a good summer, keep recruiting where ever possible.
David Knapp

Match reports - April 5, 2008

Ladies XI 1-1 Guildford 2nd XI
The season finished with one of our best performances of the campaign against a … er … surprisingly strong Guildford side who had they been able to play like this every week, or even field the same XI, would have romped the division. That they finished below us was possibly more to do with the fact their 1st XI were not in action. Anyhow, with two wins since October, Guildford dominated the first 25 minutes, almost laying siege as we rarely managed to break out of our half, although some outstanding defence limited them to few shots, and they failed to capitalise on numerous short-corner chances. We actually finished the half the stronger, twice going close. The second half was more even, although Guildford always looked more likely to score, and when they finally scrambled home a short corner midway through the half and then created several more chances, the writing seemed to be on the wall. But, to our immense credit, we dug deep, weathered more attacks, and started to push for the equaliser. The last five minutes were nothing of not entertaining. Guildford claimed a penalty flick when a surging run at goal was ended by a typically forceful Ros tackle, neither umpire ruling it unfair to the almost tearful protests of the forward, and a minute later Vikki Mottram hit the post. Eighty seconds from time a break down the right, a cross and an ecstatic Jackie Joyce swept home the equaliser to our undisguised delight. Guildford’s day ended in embarrassment when their coach, who displayed boorishness as well as ignorance and tactical naivety, decided to lambaste our umpire for the incident near the end, ignoring the fact that neither official had seen an offence. Three of his squad shook hands with the official while a number of them, egged on by the boor, loudly made clear their feelings. Class.

A superb end to the season with one of our most spirited displays, and a reflection on just what a united and excellent bunch of ladies we have in the club.

Vets XI 0-2 Tring
The Vets ended the season in defeat but it was one of the most entertaining games of a long campaign. Tring brought a much stronger side than we had seen previously, including our old friend Matt Leedham, returning to hockey after an 11-year break, but we played some superb hockey in the first half but went into the break one down. We failed to hit the target often enough and our short-corner routine never really functioned. As we pressed for the equaliser, Tring started to threaten more but our defence held firm until ten minutes from time when they scored a second from a breakaway. Five minutes later Dodie Khurshid found himself in utterly unfamiliar territory – in the D lining up for a shot – when he was fouled. The resulting flick from Andy Eve was in the realms of the worst ever but by then the game was up.

Match reports - March 29, 2008

1st XI 5-2 Wanderers
A welcome win against a team who have perennially been a thorn in our side and having been 1–0 down what a result it would seem to be. However, the scoreline masks the truth somewhat greatly and we could have saved ourselves much half baked effort and taken a 3–0 forfeit when offered it at the outset with the news that the HAC keeper was stuck at Terminal 5 and one other of their players had gone awol. We faced the nine-man opposition and it took us until half time to score and only then because we had gone one down. Nine short corners and shocking finishing enabled the stand-in but very effective HAC keeper to keep a clean sheet until the 30th minute or so when Rippers eventually beat him with a rasping shot from the top of the D.


The second half was not a great deal better but at least we scored four more, a drive from Copleston at a short, two from Smudger from the top of the D as well and finally a Cookiey effort being deflected just under the bar. The last hurrah belonged to HAC who pushed the ball home at the fourth attempt from their last short corner. From the start the game had an end of term feel to it and we were all thankful when the final whistle blew.


Four wins out of four at the start of the season was thrown away in three horrible weeks in November from which we were always going to struggle to catch up. Two matches with 10 men is inexcusable and to be frank it would have been a travesty had we won promotion. Our tenants UCL won the league and Wanderers now go into the play-offs and we sincerely hope they win the match that we failed to do so miserably last season. I, for one, certainly do not wish to play against Wanderers next season as they were the best side we played against by a country mile. We wish Wanderers all the best in the play-off in a month’s time and UCL and hopefully Wanderers well for next season in the league above.


Finally, I must call into question the merit of playing a league match after Easter when an extra game could have been played before the Christmas break or the league could have commenced again a week earlier as I am sure all teams in the various leagues would have felt more comfortable having the leagues wrapped up ahead of Easter. The downside would have been a six-week gap before the play offs !

Match reports - March 15, 2008

The 2nd XI secured their South Open Surrey Area - Division 1 status with a 4-0 win over Wanderers which means that as other results went our way, we cannot be relegated. So tight is the league that we could finish fifth if we win our last game. The 1st XI, with nothing to play for, went down 3-5 at Old Midwhitgiftians, and the Ladies turned in a below-par performance to lose 1-3 to Richmond. The 3rd XI, already relegated, had hoped to end James Armitage’s captaincy on a high but instead crashed to a 3-9 loss at Reigate Priory. The Vets battled to a 1-0 win at St Albans.

2nd XI 4-0 Wanderers
A result that has ensured safety with a game to spare, and a victory in two weeks time could mean a top half of the table finish. It was another cracking performance (13 points now from a possible 15) and perhaps a realisation that we should have been competing at the other end of the table all season!

We did start slowly and Wanderers created the first real chance, superbly saved by a combination of Mike and the crossbar. It was the wake up call we needed and Neil converted a short corner variation - apparently the shot was going 3 feet wide before a defender's foot intervened. A second from Mark soon followed and we switched to cruise control waiting for the half time whistle.

After the break we upped the tempo again and created a succession of short corners, but sadly it was the one part of our game not firing. Open play though was and Mark scored a blistering second, firing into the far corner from the top of the D. Moments later he was guilty of hat-trick avoidance, pushing wide when faced with an open goal, however made up for it by slipping a deft pass to David who finished clinically. Another good performance, with most of the team enhancing their reputations from the solidity at the back through the marking and creativity in the midfield to the finishing up front.

Crucially we need to build on our 2008 performances next season. We have the makings of a very good side that should be competing to win the league, not just stay in it, but that will take a higher level of commitment than evidenced this year. If we can maintain the solid backbone of the team we have put out the last 5 games and perhaps even get to practice occasionally we would be off to a good start! Paul Acutt

Ladies 1-3 Richmond
We went into the match having not lost a game since just before Christmas. With two matches left we wanted a strong finish to the season and to try and move up a place or two in the league. We were missing Tux in the centre of defence but at least we had Katy in goal as last time we played Richmond we were missing her and two other defenders! We were sure we could do better this time around!

We started off one short and a bit disorganised but were soon up to 11 players and had settled down a bit. Possession was fairly even but Richmond were doing a good job of hanging around our backs and switching alot which lead to some confusion in the defence. Fifteen minutes in a shot from the top of the D took a deflection into our goal and we were 1-0 down. To be fair not an awful lot we could have done about it. We tried to get back into the game and Dora had a couple of shots go just wide of the post, it could easily have been a level score. May and Nikki were making some great runs on the right as always dribbling around players and sprinting down the wing to put a couple of crosses into the circle, but we just couldn't get on the end of them. Another Richmond attack and a couple of penalty corners awarded against us which we managed to defend comfortably - it wasn't Richmond's day for short corners. But more pressure from Richmond and before long they scored another goal, again another deflection into the back of the goal. 2-0. We had a couple of shorties but like Richmond had no luck and went into half time 2-0 down but not with heads down.

Three minutes into the second half and we were three down after a scramble in the D, a defender kicked the ball into Katy and the rebound was slotted home with ease. We were determined to try and pull it back. Our defence of Muriel, Sarah and George had now got the Richmond's forwards well under control and Rosie was doing a great job of mopping up any loose players, intercepting the ball and then moving it forwards. Nina was doing a great job of distributing the ball around and we started playing our game of hockey, short sharp passes, and we were much more in control, working as a team moving it around the back and moving it forwards as a unit and supporting each other. Richmond were still putting pressure on us though and saw a shot (that everyone thought was going wide bounce off the post and curl backwards toward the goal line with a Richmond player diving towards it. Katy dived to her left, full stretch and made an excellent save.

Although by this point it looked extremely unlikely we were going to get a result we held our heads high battled on continuing to attack hard. And the perseverance paid off. A quick free hit taken by Sarah H to Jax swept into the circle towards the goal and came off first Dora then to Anna who finished it off. We had at least got one back and that could have been two but Jackie was inches from turning in a superb cross.

The match ended 3-1 and Richmond probably deserved the win but it was a brave performance from us, we kept our heads up and gave it 110% until the final whistle. Although we lost the match and our mood reflected that, it was in no way a performance to be ashamed of. Jackie Joyce

Britain head to Beijing

Great Britain beat India 2-0 in the final of the 2008 Olympics Qualifier in Chile to book their place in Beijing where they can cough and choke their way to polluted Olympic glory.

The 2-0 result did not reflect the gap between two similarly ranked sides. It meant India failed to qualify for the first time since they joined Olympics hockey in 1928, and their coach Joaquim Carvalho resigned yesterday after less than a year in the job. Narendra Batra, the Indian Hockey Confederation's vice-president, also quit.

If the British attackers had converted several well-worked chances that followed two early goals by Barry Middleton and Richard Mantell, the hit-and-hope Indians would have faced humiliation by half-time. Middleton, enjoying his most effective game, pounced on Ashley Jackson's cross in the fourth minute with India's defence dozing, and in the 10th minute, Mantell drag-flicked home the first penalty corner.

Matt Daly, Simon Mantell and Rob Moore miscued golden chances, and in the second half Jonty Clarke hit a post. Even the predatory Prabjhot Singh, perhaps the week's best player, cut a forlorn figure, deprived of possession. India's penalty corners were either bungled or dealt with by Alistair McGregor.

Click here to read more courtesy of The Daily Telegraph

Match reports - March 8, 2008

NPL 0-5 1st XI
Another far from convincing performance but perhaps it is churlish to be critical of a 5 – 0 victory but it is a sign of the high standards we have set ourselves this year. NPL came to us as bottom of the pile and if we were expecting a push over it was not to be as NPL took the game to us in the first 15 minutes. Our break came when our striker was impeded illegally by a stick tackle when about to score and Breton popped away the stroke. Two more quick goals from debutant Andy Craven and a beautifully executed free hit by Rippers and the game was over even though Robbo had to make two important saves.

Any chance of a come back from NPL went when their left back earned himself a ridiculous yellow that he decided should be turned into an “advance to home card” with him jumping into his car and leaving his remaining 10 team mates to fight on without him. Adair and Knipp added to the NPL woes finishing off 2 moves with tap ins, Adair being particularly unselfish in setting up Knopp. Adair was in high spirits having just become a dad of twin girls, allegedly born the size of Ed Breton.
Two games left and two wins required for some self esteem.Rex Bermon

Croydon 2-2 Ladies
After an eventful journey to Croydon with a few sore heads and managing to get there more by luck than judgement, we were determined to come away with a better result than the 0-2 loss at home to them earlier in the season. Croydon were leading the league table, but we knew we were more than capable of beating them.

We were glad to have our usual defenders back of Ros, Tux, Muriel and Mez - who had her work cut out form her from the start, marking Croydon's nifty winger and captain. We started well passing the ball around well with some excellent distribution coming form the back. Before long Caroline 'The Havoc' Hall had made an excellent run up the wing passed it across to Vikki who passed to Dora 'Tjhe Scorer' on the edge of the circle who melted the ball in with her usual class putting us 1-0 up! Croydon as expected pushed back hard won several short corners of which Katy had to make a couple of excellent sales before unfortunately one of them crept into the back of the goal levelling the score. Another Croydon shot five minutes later ricocheted off the post before a much welcome half time.

After our usual half time and much appreciated oranges sent by coach Mott (who was unfortunately not able to attend this week or next as he is living it up snowboarding - priorities!) we knew we had to up the anti as Croydon would be out to do the same. The midfielders of Sarah H, Jax and Nina (the latter who didn't appreciate the extra running around required of playing midfield this week rather than forward, after a night out on the tiles in Chelsea - she even did the walk of shame as she turned up in her previous nights outfit - that's right Nina, I can make things up too!), were running their legs off doing an excellent job of supporting the defence and moving the ball up the pitch and creating the attack. Even so Croydon won yet more short corners and a rebound off a Croydon forward between her own legs and into the goal which we didn't have a chance of saving put us behind for the first time in the match 2-1. Our heads were by no means down though! Although May had got slightly lost on her way to the pitch (about 1/2 hour late lost!) she had turned up at half time so we had some fresh turbo speed legs now warmed up and ready to come on! Mez was also glad of having Mrs Sangster to sub with too and between them they did on excellent job on their difficult player! Less than 10 minutes later the ball was crossed into the circle went from Sarah H to Vikki who slotted it past the keeper for a silky finish 2-2. We were not done by a long way though but neither we Croydon! Both teams battled hard with a relatively even distribution of possession and some end to end hockey. We had a shot go just wide of the post, they caught us on the break, we conceded penalty corners and they managed to concede none the whole match, Nina received and elbow in the jaw (I don't know what it is about her she seems to wind her opposite players up - keep doing it Nina!) and so the score ended 2-2 all. A fair result and an enjoyable match where we played some great hockey, although three points instead of one obviously would have made it more rewarding! We are now still just 4 points off a promotion spot with two matches to go. There is still a small hope of promotion but relying on some results going our way and us keeping our momentum going. Come on ladies we're nearly there! Let's keep the good work and training up for a couple more weeks and it will pay off gaining us a league position we deserve, even if not promotion! Jackie Joyce

Old Kingstonians 2-4 2nd XI
There's a lot to be said for momentum and confidence, with 10 points now taken out of a possible 12. Playing against an OKs side that had humbled us 6-1 at home the week before Christmas, this was a different encounter with us starting strongly on a flat, fast but dangerously slippery pitch. The effort and marking from back to front was superb and laid the foundation for a succession of short corners, the second of which was stopped by a pair of size 9s on the line. The ensuing stroke was calmly tucked away by Bruce. We continued to control the game and two swift counterattacks resulted in 2 more goals, the second of which was finished by the again excellent Doug marauding forward from right back. Unfortunately we did take our foot off the pedal and conceded a sloppy short corner and even softer goal.

Half time was tinged with an air of nervousness, but again we pushed on in the second half and a short corner soon followed with the strike from Paul hitting the top of the backboard. We had a number of other chances either denied by poor finishing or a decent OK's keeper and in fact OK's had the last say with a well taken deflected goal, but the edge had been taken out of the game and we comfortably held on for a well deserved 4-2 win.

As yet we are not guaranteed of our league place and need to target at least one win from our last two games to ensure safety, but if we continue to play like this that should be achieved. Proud to be part of this side today! Paul Acutt

3rd XI 2-1 Woking
As our illustrious leader donned his tightest Speedos (oh God, that’s disgusting) and sunned himself on the holding deck of the Guantanamo Bay Hilton, we embarked on the penultimate game of the season. Woking are at the bottom of the table, being kept company by our fine selves, which is a product of a sporadic season in terms of performance levels. The first half certainly served to remind us of the type of play that we have been trying to avoid, where we looked disjointed moved the ball rather sluggishly, to the extent that we conceded a relatively early goal. Woking had a couple of quick breaks on the back of their success in our D. However, towards the end of the first half we began to put together some good play with Grant, Tim and Preston working well together on the right. We won a couple of shorties of which the second yielded a goal with Preston taking a shot on goal saved by the keeper with Richie Lawrence stealing in to nutmeg the unsuspecting goalie.

With the formation critiqued and overhauled during the half time break we moved into the second half looking better, more structured and with a higher tempo. Great play notably from the player of the season Stuey Steele linking with Grant and Tim meant that we were in a far more commanding position and were able to build some good possession and moves into the oppo’s half, 25 and D and eventually converted one of these via a well taken goal from Armitage (G!). Silky skills were on display from here on in with Preston text book 270 degree spin to put the ball through to Richard L, however the Woking defence prevented the moved yielding the result that perhaps it deserved. We held the game and looked very much in control to take it to the final whistle and win 2-1.

Man of the Match was Grant who had a very strong game indeed. Many thanks also to Andy Eve, Tommy Trinder and Cookie who step in to ensure that we had the full complement and umpire, for this pride-preserving game. Other results meant that we are now relegated but at least we won with pride on the day that was confirmed. Chaz Martin